Citing narrow "national security" exemptions from labor laws governing the relationship between federal employee unions and the government, this sweeping Executive Order claims to exempt the majority of federal government employees from laws protecting their right to collectively bargain with their employers. A Fact Sheet issued by the White House in conjunction with this order makes clear that this is retaliation for the unions' challenges to the Trump Administration's lawlessness, including its attempts to force swaths of career civil servants out of their roles. The order exempts federal law enforcement unions, which historically have supported President Trump and his policies.

According to Politico, "[t]he order would eliminate collective bargaining rights from roughly 67 percent of the entire federal workforce and for 75 percent of workers who are already in a union." https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/28/union-rights-federal-workers-donald-trump-00257010